1. Field
The present disclosure relates to a communication device, a communication control method, and a communication system. Particularly, the disclosure is preferably used for a communication device, a communication control method, and a communication system, capable of performing communication through any one channel of a plurality of communication channels.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a communication device, such as on-vehicle equipment, performs communication with a portable terminal, such as a smartphone, through any one channel of a plurality of communication channels so as to be able to cooperate with the portable terminal. The above cooperation allows, for example, the portable terminal to play back streaming video with respect to the on-vehicle equipment or allows the portable terminal to be operated through a touch panel of the on-vehicle equipment.
For example, in some cases, another communication device in a communication area of a destination, has already used a communication channel that is the same as a communication channel being currently used for communication with a portable terminal by this type of on-vehicle equipment. In this case, the on-vehicle equipment shares the same communication channel with the other communication device. Thus, the on-vehicle equipment is required to make the communication be on standby while the other communication device performs communication. Accordingly, for example, a problem occurs that video to which the portable terminal has performed a streaming playback with respect to the on-vehicle equipment stops, or a delay occurs in response of operation from the on-vehicle equipment with respect to the portable terminal. Particularly, delay time tends to lengthen as the number of communication devices using the same communication channel increases.
Thus, JP 2005-150848 A discloses the following technique. In a vehicle-to-vehicle communication device that mutually performs communication with vehicles in a group, throughput is calculated based on the utilization number of vehicles that use each channel in a plurality of communication channels. A communication channel used for communication with the vehicles in the group is switched to a communication channel having highest calculated throughput out of the plurality of communication channels. According to this technique, a communication channel having a favorable communication environment is selected so that efficient data communication can be performed.